Update IV (10/3): Read the latest, Message from a “Values Voter.”
Update III (10/2): This post is close to commenting. To discuss the latest on this unfolding mess, go to Mr. Speaker, You Must Resign.
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I thought twice (actually, four times) about blogging this, but what the hey?
I try to avoid salacious stuff, but it’s Friday, so…whatever.
Last night I read that Republican Congressman Mark Foley [6:07 p.m.: He took down his web site.] sent a strange e-mail message to a 16-year-old male page (in response to a recommendation request) and asked what he wanted for his birthday. He also asked the kid for a photo. Foley e-mailed from his AOL account. Why, people were wondering, would a politician rumored to be bisexual homosexual send such an e-mail to a teenaged boy?
So the kid forwards the e-mail to someone in Foley’s office, saying it was “sick sick sick sick sick.” Some people suspected a set up; others said Foley was up to no good. I think he was initiating something with the boy and got caught. Stupid. A man in his position should know better.
Foley’s people said it was customary to request photos from pages who ask for recommendations. But from a private e-mail account? OK. Guess what? Foley’s instant messages to other young male pages have turned up. Rotten luck, mate.
Foley is resigning from the House, and a criminal investigation is in the works.
Stick a fork in him. He’s done.
Addendum: Foley was a founder and co-chair of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children’s Caucus. 
Sources:
Bloggers: Sister Toldjah, Confederate Yankee, Hot Air, Daily Pundit, Blue Crab Boulevard, Wizbang Politics, Verum Serum, The Florida Masochist, Outside the Beltway, Suitably Flip…
Also see the Washington Post.
Update (9/30): Self-promotion alert — Last year, I was asked to tell you about a blog aggregator called Blogniscient. I forgot. This morning, I remembered. 
Later…More blogger reactions: Right Wing Nut House, Captain’s Quarters…
Update II (10/1): The Speaker of the House is calling for a criminal investigation. As expected, the blogosphere is swarming all over “Foleygate.” I think I prefer Pagegate, but it’s too late for that. Once a critical mass of bloggers starts using a particular term, it sticks.
Read the latest at Just One Minute and Right Wing Nut House.
